Protector
by silentanarchy34
Summary: Mako discovers a new gang emerging from Republic City, which Korra promptly offers help with. Rated M. Makorra. One-Shot.


**Takes place after book 2. In Republic City. Mako is a rising star in the police force. Korra is getting back to Republic city after 5 months in the south pole peacekeeping and enforcing new laws.**

**Rated M for language and torture situations. If you are triggered by torture or unwanted inappropriate touching, I suggest you proceed with caution.**

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><p>"There is something I don't like about this case," Mako said to himself in the empty police station. He was referring to the case he just started investigating where a series of murders all done in the same fashion had been taking place over the last week and a half. At every scene there was a strange gold and blue symbol graffitied on some of the walls in the surrounding area. Each body was held to the ground by makeshift shackles from an earthbender and seemed to be sitting in water for days. These style of murders were not done by any of the Triple Threat gangs. Though they did murder people, it was never this cruel. He racked his brain, trying to figure out what was going on when someone barged into the office.<p>

"Mako! What are you still doing here?" Lin Beifong said sternly.

"Sorry Lin, just trying to figure out a clue on this latest case," he said, still very frustrated.

She sighed, "You've seen the sketch, why don't you get out of this office and go hit the streets, maybe you'll figure out where this son of a bitch is hiding."

He too sighed, earlier in the day a witness described one of the men who did this, very descriptively, so much so that the sketch artist on duty finished his shift, and another one came in to fill his place. "Hopefully you're right, plus I find it hard to think properly in here, I'll see you tomorrow," he said, getting up from his desk.

As he passed Lin, who was still standing in the doorway, obviously wanting to make sure he actually left, she said, "Be careful, these people are obviously very good at what they do and won't hesitate to kill you."

He nodded, "I will."

He walked out of the Police's main headquarters in the heart of Republic City and went to the slums district where he spent most of his youth. As he was meandering through the maze of buildings and alleyways, he started noticing alot of the same gold and blue symbols seen at the murders. They seemed to be on every other wall. He tensed up, getting one of those feelings like he might have to defend himself, then he saw him. The man from the sketch in exact detail, just walking past the alley he was in. Mako caught up quickly and silently to follow him, trying not to seem too obvious as he felt alot of eyes watching him all of a sudden. He stopped at a newspaper stand and picked up a newspaper, still watching the man walk down the street. Then the man stopped, looked around quickly and banged on the door to an old run down apartment building that seemed to be boarded up. The door opened and the man disappeared inside.

Determining that this was definitely a new gang and that was definitely their hideout, Mako was satisfied for now and proceeded home, making sure to take the long, twisted route to ensure he wasn't followed. He proceeded to take off his coat, hang it up and then go plop down on the couch in the tiny, single bedroom apartment on the east end of town. The entire time he was walking home, he was wondering how to proceed, especially since he didn't really have actual evidence other than that drawing. He was so deep into thought that he almost didn't hear the phone ringing.

"Hello?" he answered into the receiver.

"Hey Mako, hows it goin?" a pleasant voice said.

Instantly he recognized her voice and answered, "Pretty good, how about you Korra?"

"Y'know, just saving the world, one nerve, I mean location at a time," she said, sounding very fryed from her excursion at the south pole.

"So what do I owe for the pleasure of talking to the Avatar?" he replied snarkily.

"How about dinner? I need to take a break from all this Avatar/politics bullshit I've been dealing with."

"Sure, but you're buying," he said, chuckling a little. He was surprised at how easily he still got along with her even though they broke up. Sure he still got a little frustrated that he couldn't hold her and tell her that he loved her, but he still got to see her, which was just enough to keep him from going over the edge.

"Alright, City Boy, meet me at the usual restaurant?"

"Sounds good, see you there, bye."

"Bye."

He hung up the receiver, grabbed his coat, and headed out the door.

About 5 streets before the restaurant, he actually saw Korra just a few paces ahead. He decided it would be funny to sneak up on her. When he was just about to poke her sides, he suddenly found a boot in his gut.

"Creep, get away from…" she started saying but realized her mistake. "Oh spirits, I'm so sorry Mako." She bent over to get a look at him.

"Umff, its ok, I'll live," he said wrapping his arms around his stomach.

They continued on their way to the restaurant, talking and laughing, but in the back of Mako's mind he was still trying to figure out what to do about that damned gang. Korra read that he was only half there and asked,

"Hey, whats on your mind?" totally interrupting his lame joke.

He sighed, knowing he couldn't keep anything from this woman, "There is a new gang coming out of the city. They have already brutally murdered 7 people in a way that can only be described as torture."

She interrupted him, "The ones from the papers?"

"Yeah. Anyways, I followed one of the guys to their hideout, but we don't have any real evidence to send a full out police raid on the building, but obviously I don't want to let them kill any more people like they have been."

"Hmmm, do you think they have alot of men?" she asked, getting that, I have an idea that will probably get us killed grin.

He didn't catch on right away, "I don't think so, probably only a few, just alot of paid off citizens."

"What part of town did you say they were in?" she asked, still bearing that same grin. She loved getting her hands dirty and kicking some ass.

By this point it was brutally obvious what she was thinking, "Korra, we can't. I don't know alot about these guys. They could be extremely dangerous."

"Yes, but I also don't want them to kill more innocent people and I know you don't either. We can handle ourselves," she said stirnly.

"Neither do I, but we have no idea how many people there are in the gang."

"I thought you said it was small…"

"It is, but…" she cut him off again.

"Well, if I can't take down one little gang, how can I call myself the 'ultimate fighter'?" she said, emphasizing the ultimate fighter.

He looked at her, confused, "Who said you're the 'ultimate fighter'?"

"My dad can be a little over zealous sometimes… anyways I want to take them down before they get bigger. Screw the rules and regulations this time, take them down before they become a real threat," she said, punching into her hand.

He thought about it for a second, "Fine, its probably a bad idea, but whats the worst that can happen?"

"Great, then lets go, screw dinner, I wanna get some of this pent up stress out anyways," she exclaimed, smiling.

"Follow me," he said, as they marched towards the gang's hideout.

It was a little after 1am they figured by the time they reached the gang's territory. Mako was a little lost, not fully remembering where the building was, Korra right beside him.

"Are we lost, City Boy?" she said sarcastically.

He chuckled slightly, "Honestly, a little. I'll figure it out though."

He just then recognized the newspaper stand in the empty streets that he stopped at before.

He pointed to the boarded up door, "Its right there. How should we do this?"

"Same as always, lets wing it," she said eagerly.

They got up to the door and Mako slowly opened it. Inside was, what looked to be a corridor. They both went inside silently, and shut the door behind them. Going into the labyrinth of hallways, they made their way deeper into the apartment. The gold and blue symbol was plastered on every wall, which themselves looked strange and hastily put up.

"This is strange," Mako whispered to his partner.

"Yeah, there seem to be no guards around this place," she whispered back.

He shook his head, "No, we've been walking in the same direction for like 5 minutes, this apartment wasn't this big from the outside."

She looked at him confused, "What do you mean?"

"I think they joined together the buildings along this block and the next one to make one large complex," he said, looking very worried. They might have just gotten themselves into some deep shit.

Just then, a huge stream of water came hurtling at Korra, which she easily dodged, but then a second one came out of nowhere and knocked her onto her back.

"Korra!" Mako shouted as he got into his fighting stance.

The man he was tracking earlier came out from behind a closed door.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here. Seems the policeman and his Avatar girly came sniffin around," the man said fiendishly. "Hey Jugo, I might actually need backup on this one."

Just then a large man jumped out from the same door as the first, and landed on the ground, sending a wave of rock at Mako, which he jumped over.

"Yeah, seems like you will Marrik," Jugo said.

Korra was just getting to her feet, angry as ever, "These are your guys I'm guessing."

"Yup, lets do this quickly," Mako said, sending a fireball towards Jugo with his fist. Marrik bent some water from the nearby room and doused the flame while throwing a bolt towards Mako. Korra bent the water that was flying towards Mako and sent it back to Marrik. Jugo promptly jumped infront of the blast, seemly absorbing it and sending a stream of rocks flying at the pair of heros. The two were pelted with smaller rocks, throwing them slightly off balance, just enough so that Marrik could send a huge stream of water and rocks at Korra's head, rendering her stunned. Mako continued fighting, slowing backing into the previous hallway they turned from. Somehow he made it to cover, before realizing that Korra was still on the ground stunned. Jugo kicked the ground once again and bent the rocky floor around Korra's ankles and hands. Mako looked at the floors and walls and realized that for some reason, flagstone was used for both with a thin layer of paint over it. Suddenly his world went black as someone snuck up behind him and smashed his head.

He awoke upright, in a small room, hand and ankles bound to the wall. Across from him, Korra is also bound in a similar fashion. She looks at him, "Bout time you woke up."

"Where are we?" he asked.

"I have no idea, somewhere inside the building I suspect," she answered, looking around the room.

"I'm sorry I…" he started staying, but was abruptly cut off by Marrik, Jugo and another man, probably the one that knocked him out, entered the room.

"So, now that I have your attention, I have a few questions for the cop," Marrik said, smiling evilly.

"Get us down from here," Mako demanded. He received a punch in the gut in response by Jugo, which caused him to start coughing.

"What does the police know about the murders so far?" Marrik asked, as if nothing happened.

"Fuck you," the firebender responded. "Its scum like you that ruin this city."

Marrik laughed, "Oh, I didn't know I asked for an opinion." He punched Mako hard in the side of the face.

"You'll regret that," Korra said, trying to activate Avatar state.

"Having a little trouble are we, Miss Avatar?" Marrik stated. "That would probably be because I have managed to put a temporary block on your powers. Not sure how to make it permanent except by killing you, but it should be enough to hold you in place." He walked up and grabbed under her chin, lifting it to look at his face. "I wouldn't want to kill my most important hostage yet now would I?" He laughed again.

"Get your hands off her!" Mako yelled angrily, earning him another punch to the gut from Jugo.

Marrik turned his head towards Mako, "Oh, so this is how I get you to talk. How nice of you to tell me." He let go of under her chin and touched the inside of her thigh.

"Get your fucking hands off me," Korra yelled.

Marrik removed his hand and and brought it to his chin, pretending to think. "Hmmm… No I don't think I will. In fact, until your little police officer friend here tells me what I want to know, I'm going to continue. And if that doesn't work," he smiled devilishly, "then I might have to get a little more, creative."

"Fine," Mako said, "I'll tell you what you want to know." He put his head down in shame for what he was about to do. He told Marrik everything he knew about the case so far.

"Thank you very much," Marrik said. Jugo hit Mako again, making him nearly pass out in pain.

"Now, what to do… what to do…" Marrik pondered. He walked up to Korra and smacked her across the face.

"I told you what you wanted," Mako said between coughs, "now let us go and stop touching her."

Marrik laughed again, "When did I say I would let you go?" He punched her again. And again. And again. Mako kept yelling at him to stop. Then, for the first time, Mako saw Korra crying from pain. He started getting even more angry, his skin started getting hotter.

"Awww, why you crying bitch?" Marrik said in his enjoyment of beating her, "here, let me wash away your tears." He bent the water from the bucket in the corner of the room and engulfed her head. She tried getting her head out of the water frantically. Mako's body was getting so hot, it was starting to glow. She stopped struggling, realizing that this man wasn't going to stop. She needed to try and reserve her oxygen supply. She stared directly at Mako, still crying while her head was submerged, her eyes begging him to try and do something. Mako was glowing red, his clothes started smoking.

"Get away from her NOW!" he yelled. Jugo punched his gut again, but when he pulled his hand back, it was burnt, a hole in Mako's shirt where he has punched him.

"What are you gunna do about it wimp," Marrik laughed.

Mako yelled a war cry and the earthen bonds that held him to the wall broke loose. He immediately threw a huge fireball at Jugo, who was about 1 foot away from him. The entire front part of Jugo's body was red and black and he lay unconscious on the floor. The man who had knocked him out earlier tried to throw a flame, but Mako took the flame he had made and blew it up right infront of his hands, scorching them, causing the man to real over in pain. Then Mako focused on Marrik, who had stopped suffocating Korra , turned the water to ice, and sent it flying towards Mako. The ice hit Mako's body, but it just evaporated due to the tremendous heat he was giving off. The room was starting to get very hot.

"Any last words?" Mako asked, not looking for an answer.

"Fuck you," he retorted and bent the water infront of him, making a wall.

Mako walked up to the wall, and punched right through it, evaporating the water as it hit his fist. The punch connected with Marrik's head, rendering him conconious as well as giving him a very nasty 4th degree burn. Mako's body started cooling down, his skin returning to its original color. He turned to Korra and broke the bonds that held her to the wall. She started falling forward from lack of strength, and was caught by two strong arms belonging to her savior. He pulled her against his chest.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

"I'll be fine, thank you so much," she said.

"I was so scared, I couldn't imagine what I would do if you died," he said shakily.

"Same here, I thought we were both going to die here," she said, and started crying again.

"I love you," he said and kissed her head.

"I love you too," she said, turning in his embrace to look at his face.

"Why did we ever break up," he asked, before realizing this was probably not the time.

Her expression changed, making him think he was stupid for asking that just after they nearly died.

"Because I thought it was the right thing to do. But I think I made a mistake," she said, smiling again.

Suddenly Tenzen came rushing into the room, along with Lin and about 10 other metalbender police.

"Korra! Your safe!" he exclaimed, and rushed over to her side.

"Get her to a healer right now," Mako exclaimed, handing her over to Tenzen.

"You too idiot, you have burns all over your body," Lin said.

They both got to the hospital, and aid was provided. As they laid in the recovery room, waiting to be sent home as the injuries weren't as bad as they thought, Mako spoke up.

"I'm sorry I got you into this whole mess. I almost got you killed." He held his head down in shame.

She smiled back at him, "It's not the first time, and it won't be the last. I'm just glad we are both ok."

He smiled back and they happily began to catch up on what had transpired through the last 5 months of their lives as a happy couple.

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><p><strong>First story in a while. Tell me how I did. It might undergo a slight re-write, wrote this all in one go to get the idea out.<strong>

**Ending probably going to undergo a re-write. Please let me know what you think of it, and what I should add.**

***Edited Friday, January 17th*  
>Definitely going to re-write on the last portion of the chapter that I seemed to rush through. I was tired but I wanted to finish this.<strong>


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